Sunday Rewind 02.10.08

Today we began our sermon series for Lent, called "What if?" In it, we're asking the question, "What if what happened to the people in the Bible, happened to the people of Prince Street Church?"

We began the journey by looking at Acts 2:42-43, in which we see that the people of the early church were 100% devoted to the person and work of Jesus. Because of that, people were in awe of the amazing things that were happening.

I suspect that most of us want to see amazing things happen in our lives, in our church and in our community. But you can't get to verse 43 without verse 42 being true. So, here's the question: "Are you 100% devoted to the person and work of Jesus?" Or, are there secret areas of your life?

By secret areas, I'm not talking about whether or not you snore or drool in your sleep. I'm talking about secret sin that, if discovered, would ruin relationships, your reputation, your life.

Many Christians live half-hearted lives. They are not 100% devoted to Jesus. But instead of doing something about it, they make excuses, trying to justify their life. Some ways we do that are:

• Involvement - Doing lots of good things makes people think you're living a godly life. But it's a trap. Just read Acts 5 to see what happens when you try to play the game.
• Comparison - Am I devoted? No, but I'm a lot better than (fill in the blank). The problem is that we always pick people worse than us. If you want to compare yourself to someone, pick Jesus, then see how you measure up.
• Deception - We tell ourselves we won't get caught; but we will. We tell ourselves it's our life; but it isn't. We tell ourselves it only impacts us; but it doesn't

Are you 100% devoted to the person and work of Jesus? No? I have good news for you. Here's what you can do about it:

• Confession - agree with God that you are guilty of violating His holy law
• Repentance - decide not to go your way any more.

Through confession and repentance, you will find God bringing you back into a relationship in which you may be completely devoted to Jesus.

What if the people of Prince Street Church were devoted to Jesus the way the people of the early Church were devoted?